Golf putter hand grip



Feb. 12, 1963 D. J. LEoNARD GOLF PUTTER HAND GRIP 2 SheetsSheet l FiledApril 22, 1959 D 6 AM M.. 1 mN W m0 NE u 1M I l|-- g W a mw w w M. mw JW 9 3 has/F4. w w l///W/MF w w 9 6 i mhvl 1 O ll.

Filed April 22. 1959 JNVENTOR; DANIEL. J. LEONRD BY United dtates PatentOffice 3,0,349 Patented Feb. 12, 1963 3,l)77,3-t9 Gildii? PUT'EER HANDGRE? Daniel I. Leonard, 44 Bay Ridge Ave., Brooklyn 29, Nf'i. Filed Apr.22, V1959, Ser. Na. 8%,167 Z Clairns. (Ci. 273-8Ld) This inventionrelates to handles and hand grips for golf clubs and putters, andparticularly to a special hand grip for golf putters.

The main object of my invention is to provide means for improving thebalance 'of the grip of a `golf player's hands upon the handle of a golfclub or putter shaft during putting action.

An ancillary object of my invention is `to provide the shaft of a putterwith a novel and secure vgrip means fitting the Semi-closed palms ofboth of a player's hands in such fashion as to facilitate easy balancingand swinging of the `putter for an accurate and effective drive of agolf ball at will.

Another object of the invention is to have such a grip means which iscapable of being secured upon the shaft of the putter to form apermanent hand grip thereon to provide a secure and positive manual holdupon the potter hand grip at all times.

A further object of this invention `is to have a golf putter hand gripof such nature and form that it can be made of Wood, metal, plastic andthe like, and which is capable of being secured to the putter shaftintended to carry it by means of cement, pins, screws or the like, and`vhich may be made as an original portion of or upon the shaft duringmanufacture of the putter as a whole.

Yet another object is to have such a hand grip serving as the putterhandle so that it may be fitted on the putter shaft in the form of ashell or sleeve, if desired, or may be directly attached to one side ofsaid shaft.

it is, of course a desirable object to have the hand grip produced fromlow cost materials and by low cost methods as by casting of plastic inmolds or dies, so that the invention may be placed on the market in suchmanner and at such reasonable prices as to eucourage wide distributionin the sports world.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will appear in greaterdetail as this specification proceeds.

In order to facilitate clear comprehension of the invention for a properappreciation of the salient features thereof, it is illustrated on theaccornpanying drawing forming part hereof, and in which:

FIGURE l is a front elevation of the novel hand grip embodying theinvention as applied to the shaft of a golf putter;

FIGURE 2 is a side eievation of the same hand grip and putter as seenfrom the right side in FEGURE 1;

FGURE 3 is a rear elevation of the same hand grip and putter as seenfrom the rear in FIGURE 1 or the right side in FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a transverse section of the hand grip on the putter as takenon line 4-4 in FIGURE 1 furthcr disclosing details of form andconstruction;

FIGURE 5 is a side elevation similar to that of FIG- URE 2, with theright hand shown in position on the hand grip in dotted lines; whileFIGURE 6 is a front elevation similar to that of FIG- URE l, with bothhands shown in effective gripping position on the hand grip in dottedlines.

Throughout the views, the same reference numerals indicate the sameparts and features.

Golf players are legion and they have their individual fancies regardingfavorite putters and clubs which demonstrates the fact that theirapproach to the use of a golf club or putter is often a matter of howwell they can hold the handle of the club or putter as modified by theactual size and shape of the hands of the player involved. There `isthus at present no club or putter that can be said to place all playerson the same level ofadvantage in ,their use,'altl1ough there appears tobe a definite need for such equalizing means.

Upon considering this problem, it has occurred .to me `that a golf clubor putter hand `grip should be given a special novel form which lendsitself inaparticular manner to holding and manipulating the handle so asto aiford an excellent grip and likewise balancing 'hold which allowsthe player to confidently gageaproposedstroke and execute it botheffectively and accurately in easy and certain manner. As a result, I`propose to alter theshape of the hand grip ofa club or putter toconformzto a certain degree to the hollow interior ofrthe palms ofbothof a playefs hands when they are cupped to holdlthe putter or clubinvolved, which embodiment of my invention will now be set forth.

Hence, referring now also again to the `drawing, in the practice of myinvention, the shaft of a putter generally indicated at 6 is shown at 7with a large portion 'of its length omitted as superfluous to include inthe drawing, the uper end 8 being usually considered as the handle orhand grip, while at its lower tapering end 9, the shaft terminates in aclub or putter club Vhead tlwhose Shape may vary within wide limits. Theshaft may 'have a slight taper from the upper end downwards, which taperbecomes more pronounced at the lower portion 9, only the upper end,however being of interest here.

Of course, for the purpose of the invention, the putter shaft may becylindrical or tapered, as the case may be, for the novel hand grip forthe same can well take any such conditions into consideration. Thus,upon the shaft portion d is mounted a grip body generally indicated at.ll which along its rear is virtually like a sleeve 12 enveloping theshaft, but upon the upper front portion projects forward in the form ofa bulbous grip portion 13 adapted to fit within the cupped palms of bothhands 19 and 2d of a player, while downwardly, this enlarged grip 13slopes inwardly in curved concave form at 14 and then curves outwards tothe front at 15 to form a thumb abutment for the thumbs 21 and 23 ofboth hands projecting substantially as far out as the grip portion 13.This results in a virutally `-shaped front profile when the hand gripbody is viewed from the right side in PIGURE l.

At the sides, the bulbous enlargement 13 and the thumb abutment 15 arerounded off at 1.6, 16, but at the bottom, the thumb grip or abutment isformed beneath as a finger hook 17 for receiving the two index fingers22 and 24 of the player when the palms cover the knob 13 and his twothumbs abut projection 15. It is to be noted that, as shown in FGURE 5,the thumb 21 of the right hand 19 is so placed as to abut the abutment15 on grip 11, while the index finger 22 is hooked under the bottomfinger hook 17, and the other fingers 25, 26 and 27 are envelopedrearwardly about the sleeve portion 12. Then, as shown in FIGURE 6, theleft hand 20 is so placed that the thumb 23 is beside thumb 21 of theright hand and the left index finger 2.4 is hooked beneath the leftindex finger 22, the bulbous projection 13 on the grip being disposedbetween both hands and partly covered by the thumbs 21 and 23. With thegrip body li held in this manner, the putter or club easily swings inthe hands: as a pendulum, and it is a simple matter to direct the driveas desired, for the whole suspension of the club is balanced in anunusually facile manner. The hold upon the handle is positive andcertain to an unprecedented extent, it being of no serous consequence ofwhat material the hand grip body 11 is made, so long as it is reasonablyfirm, for aside from plastic, Wood or metal being suitable, even rubberor resilient material may be used for it.

The grip body 11 may be made in varying sizes, as found most suitablefor the person intending to use it,

While on the other hand, the rear sleeve-shaped portion 12 may beomitted and the main projeeting portions 13, 15 and the undereut fingerbook 17 being along the hand `grip or hand hold attached to the clubshaft by means of cement or by pins or screws or even rivets. Ee that asit may, the present hand grip body is shown as positively retained inplace against longitudinal displacernent by a transverse pin 18preferably extending through the thickest portion of the hand grip bodyat 13 and the club shaft S.

The projection or knob 13 may be redueed or enlarged still further thanas shown, and the same is true of the thumb abutinent Ii, if desired,and the width of the body 11 may be changed as well, and such variationsare within the scope of my invention without liinit.

Manifestly, other Variations may be resorted to, and parts and featuresmay be modified or used Without others within the scope of the appendedclaims.

Hence, having now fully described my invention and dsclosed its approvedmanner of use, i claixn:

1. A hand grip for a golf club shaft having a head upon its lower endfor driving a golf ball, said hand grip including an elongated hand gripbody extending along the upper portion of at least the front side of theshaft, an upper rounded first front projection disposed upon the upperend of the hand grip body and of substan'tially the same general widththereof for engagement by the cupped palms of a golf player, a secondfront projection disposed on the lower end of said hand grip body apredetermined distance below the first front projection to form a thumbabutment for the thumbs of said player, the lower portion of said firstfront projeetion sloping first inwardly downwards and then curvingoutwardly toward the thurnb abntnrent so that the front of said handgrip body as a whole presents an E-shaped profile as viewed from oneside of said hand grip body, the lower end of the hand grip body beingup'vw'ardly coneave between the outwardly proecting thumb abutrnent andthe shaft to form a bottom iinger hook, and said hand grip bodygradually increasing Symrnetrically in width downwardly from the firstprojection to the intermediate inwardly sloping portion of said handgrip body and thereafter eurving inwardly from both sides so as todeerease in width down to the thumb abutinent.

2. A hand grip according to ciairn 1, Wherein the rear portion of thehand grip body envelopes the shaft so that the latter extendslongitudinally through said hand grip body.

References Cted in the i ie of this patent UNITED S'l`A'l`ES PATENTS1,982,525 Lusslcy et al Nov. 27, 1934 2,092,839 Gouverneau Sept. 14,1937 2,l4l,5l9 Cunningham Dee. 27, 1933 2,298,505 Ottman Oct. 13, 19422,482,l20 Mishkinis Sept. 20, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS 435,048 Great Britain1935

1. A HAND GRIP FOR A GOLF CLUB SHAFT HAVING A HEAD UPON ITS LOWER ENDFOR DRIVING A GOLF BALL, SAID HAND GRIP INCLUDING AN ELONGATED HAND GRIPBODY EXTENDING ALONG THE UPPER PORTION OF AT LEAST THE FRONT SIDE OF THESHAFT, AN UPPER ROUNDED FIRST FRONT PROJECTION DISPOSED UPON THE UPPEREND OF THE HAND GRIP BODY AND OF SUBSTANTIALLY THE SAME GENERAL WIDTHTHEREOF FOR ENGAGEMENT BY THE CUPPED PALMS OF A GOLF PLAYER, A SECONDFRONT PROJECTION DISPOSED ON THE LOWER END OF SAID HAND GRIP BODY APREDETERMINED DISTANCE BELOW THE FIRST FRONT PROJECTION TO FORM A THUMBABUTMENT FOR THE THUMBS OF SAID PLAYER, THE LOWER PORTION OF SAID FIRSTFRONT PROJECTION SLOPING FIRST INWARDLY DOWNWARDS AND THEN CURVINGOUTWARDLY TOWARD THE THUMB ABUTMENT SO THAT THE FRONT OF SAID HAND GRIPBODY AS A WHOLE PRESENT AN S-SHAPED PROFILE AS VIEWED FROM ONE SIDE OFSAID HAND GRIP BODY, THE LOWER END OF THE HAND GRIP BODY BEING UPWARDLYCONCAVE BETWEEN THE OUTWARDLY PROJECTING THUMB ABUTMENT AND THE SHAFT TOFORM A BOTTOM FINGER HOOK, AND SAID HAND GRIP BODY GRADUALLY INCREASINGSYMMETRICALLY IN WIDTH DOWNWARDLY FROM THE FIRST PROJECTION TO THEINTERMEDIATE INWARDLY SLOPING PORTION OF SAID HAND GRIP BODY ANDTHEREAFTER CURVING INWARDLY FROM BOTH SIDES SO AS TO DECREASE IN WIDTHDOWN TO THE THUMB ABUTMENT.